


Step

by Valitand



Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-10
Updated: 2013-08-10
Packaged: 2017-12-23 00:57:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/920104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valitand/pseuds/Valitand
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little phrase could go a long way into the heart of a man in love, and Koujaku just put himself to the test.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Step

“Aoba?”  The man clad in red tapped twice on the door, shifting his weight on the other side.  It’s been a worrisome few minutes he stood at the end of the flight of stairs, his left hand pressed on the wood of the door while his right clung to his waist.  A red bird on sandals perched on his shoulder, seemingly fast asleep.  He waited, but there was no answer coming from the other side of the door… not that he expected one right away.

He decided to try again.  _Tap, tap._   “Aoba?  Are you there?”

Again, there was no reply.

Koujaku heaved a soft sigh, fighting the urge to click his tongue (which he would have done in cases like this).  He never felt so nervous about an argument with Aoba before—they did have some small quarrels as children, but it was just so different now that they were together.  Not too long ago, they were together down in his parlor after a simple dinner of noodles.  Koujaku had begun closing the store, and Aoba suddenly stood up next to him and held him in his arms.  The hairstylist had stopped and shaken a little, and Aoba had asked what was wrong; Koujaku must have said something incredibly stupid because moments later, the blue-haired man grew quiet and let go, leaving the parlor without another word.  The dark blue bundle of fur that was always with him trotted beside him, which got Beni, Koujaku’s All-mate, curious.  Ren, which was the said bundle of fur, only gave Beni a look before he went out and disappeared with his owner.

It wasn’t long before they had decided to take a hint and walked through the familiar streets of the Old Resident District and into the East District’s residential areas—where Aoba’s grandmother, Tae, lived.  Even after Aoba and Koujaku got together, Koujaku’s visits never ceased (Koujaku’s appetite for Tae’s meals never changed at all) and he’d come almost every night, unless he was extremely loaded in his salon.  Tonight would be just like any night—except Koujaku stood before Tae’s door with a heavy feeling down in his chest.

Quickly explaining things to Tae, and with the old woman’s approval, Koujaku started up the flight of stairs and turned the corner to face Aoba’s room, which was shut closed.  And that was where he was now.

Seeing things weren’t going anywhere, and he didn’t want to barge into the room in case Aoba had already gone off to sleep, he whispered a “Let’s go home” to the red bird on his shoulder and walked off toward the stairs.  Just as he was about to take the first step down, the sound of movement came from inside the room, and Aoba could be heard quite clearly from behind the door,

“You’re an idiot, you know that?”

Koujaku, having heard his lover’s voice, turned his attention back to the door.  He swore he heard a little squeak coming from those words… did he cry?  He bit his lips and took steps back towards the still-closed room.  At a loss for words, Koujaku could only say what he had been calling out for a while now.

“Aoba…”

“We’ve been going out for a month now, haven’t we?” Aoba continued, his voice trembling slightly.  He paused a moment, and Koujaku could hear him licking and smacking his lips softly.  “We have, right?  Then… then why…”

There was another pause, and Koujaku opened his mouth to speak but no words came out; at this moment, nothing he would say would come out right.  Grunting in reply to the silence, he closed his mouth and waited for Aoba to talk.

Finally, he heard a gulp and a heavy intake of breath, and Aoba’s almost hushed words, “Why does it feel strange to you..?  You, of all people..!  I thought I was the one hesitating in this relationship, and when things turned to look all right, you… you think it’s strange that I act that way?  Is it strange that I do what I want to do but not when it’s you doing it?  You…”

Aoba cut off with a tremble, and a soft sniffle.  “Could you possibly have had enough—?”

Before Aoba could finish, the door was opened to his slight surprise, but the blue-haired man didn’t move from his spot and held himself in his own arms.  His eyes were plastered to the ground, though it was enough that he could see the other’s feet.  Koujaku, who had a rather straight face on, immediately stepped towards Aoba and held him as tight as he could; Beni flew off from his shoulder and over to Ren who was on the bed.

“K-Koujaku..?”

Aoba fidgeted a little, startled at the sudden action.  He slowly raised his eyes until they met the taller man’s, which seemed to blaze with a soft fury.  His mesmerizing red eyes gave off a certain sad glow; it was almost as if it was enough to say what was needed to be said.  Just almost enough…

“Aren’t you the idiot one here,” whispered Koujaku, tightening his hold around the smaller man.  He sighed into his hair.  “Of course, I… I realize what I had said to you was stupid.  But I should have you know that I never intended it that way.  Aoba… this past month, I’ve been thinking even more about you.  I definitely do not want to rush you in too fast… although I may be too late in saying that, but…  Aoba…  I don’t find anything strange with us.  Nothing at all.  I’m sorry if you thought I did, but I really don’t—I…”

The beating of their hearts raced as Koujaku paused to think and gulp.  His throat went dry, and his lips felt like cracking from whatever he was trying to say.  He slowly brought his tongue out to wet his lips before he grunted and faced Aoba’s tear-soaked face.

“I love you, Aoba.  I’ll never have enough of this, of us… of you.  I could never, and I will never.  You’re the only one I’ll ever love—the only one I’d ever want beside me.”

He noticed a tint of pink welling up on Aoba’s cheeks.  This caused a small grin and a soft chuckle from Koujaku as he added, “You should know this better than other people, right?”

Quiet, Aoba gazed into Koujaku’s eyes once more before burying his face on the other’s chest.  His exhale was muffled, and his hands gripped hard on Koujaku’s back.  “…I love you too, you idiot…”

They stayed like that for a while longer: arms around each other, eventually sharing kisses and soft pecks on each other’s lips.  The heavy blocks in their chests were replaced by warm sensations that led to stroking and touching, fingers trailing down skin and cloth.  Soft, sweet hymns left Aoba’s lips, which were answered by Koujaku’s tender sighs.  But they soon yielded to the night, and Aoba’s tears caused him to be even sleepier than he should be.  Koujaku had asked Tae-san if he could sleep over, just in case.  Happy, Aoba led them off to his bed and laid there with the other, not even once letting go of his hand.  Beni and Ren sat on the tatami, cuddled up in sleep mode.

Aoba let out a weak yawn and leaned his head closer to Koujaku’s.  The other man had his arm around him, and his other hand grabbing for the blanket to tuck them in.

“Well then,” Koujaku muttered, kissing his lover’s cheek.  “Good night, Aoba.”

“Good night,” Aoba answered, returning the kiss and cuddling up to him.

“Sweet dreams.”

“…hey, Koujaku?”

“Yeah?”

“…Well, actually, I’ve been doing some thinking too.”

“Oh?  What about?”

“…I’m… allowing you to cut my hair anytime, okay?”

“Uh—but didn’t you tell me that it was okay before?”

“Yeah, but after that I asked you to give me more time to prepare myself, remember?”

“Ah, well yes, you did say that.  And?”

“And…”

Aoba shifted even closer to Koujaku, lacing his fingers with the other’s.

“…I’m ready.”

As those words entered Koujaku’s ears, he felt his heart skip a beat and his cheeks warm with joy.  An earnest smile formed on his lips as he held Aoba lovingly.  Ah, but he was getting too excited—he had always remembered to try to do things in Aoba’s pacing, whenever he’s very comfortable.  But maybe tonight was a lesson—maybe he didn’t have to worry about all those things.  Maybe all he had to remember was that Aoba’s right here, ready to take another step with him further.  Yes.  This was definitely another step, another wall they jumped over.  With these thoughts swimming in his head, Koujaku sighed and closed his eyes, and whispered familiar words from the bottom of his heart:

“Thank you, Aoba.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was actually a little drabble I came up with cuz of a real-life experience during the time it was written.  
> It's a wonder what nervousness does to one, huh? OTL


End file.
